UCB Parents Advice about Pets
Dogs for Protection
Advice and recommendations from the UCB Parents mailing list.
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Jan 2000
Due to an unnerving incident at my new home in Kensington last week, (an
armed parolee/sex offender came to my door)-- I have stepped up my search for
a family dog or two, and need help with choosing the right kind of dog.
--We have two children, ages one and three years.
--Ideally, the dogs would like to be outside--we have a huge level lot.
(Do all dogs need to be fenced in?)
--They would need to be gentle with children yet good watch dogs.
I think we would be better off with adult dogs rather than puppies.
I have heard Collies are all of the above. Does anyone have any experience or
recommendations for these dogs or others, such as Golden Retrievers, etc..
Any input or help with our search would be greatly appreciated. (I have
already read everything in the archives, and there's not much there regarding
types of dogs.) Maura
Check out the rescue dog websites. There are many beautiful dogs out there
needing homes due to divorce, or bad planning. They are usually carefully
matched to families, and given "family/kid training" before placement. They
can tell you if the dog is a good watchdog, kid-friendly, etc. Try
www.looksmart.com and search "dog rescue organizations". They are listed by
breed. You can find wonderful adult dogs just right for a family situation.
The other good place is the Marin County Human Association. They have a
resident dog behaviorist, and she can help you find an appropriate animal
(check out their website, too, to see who's available). And, yes, you DO
need to fence the yard if you love the dog and want to keep it healthy.
BTW, our dog is a shelter rescue, and they are the very best! Good luck,
Linda
I recently got a dog, and wanted to put my 2 cents in regarding finding a
pet that is both family friendly and a decent watchdog. I did lots of
research about breeds, most of which I found through about.com (just search
for *dogs*). I ended up adopting an adult mixed breed dog through the Milo
Foundation. My dog is part Pit Bull, part Labrador Retriever with possibly
some other mutt thrown in. For all the negative press they get, I am really
fond of Pits - they are naturally quite friendly to humans, though of course
they're trainable to be fierce watchdogs. And I feel safer because she
actually looks like she's part Pit Bull, and so people tend to keep their
distance. I highly recommend considering mixed breed dogs as a way to
minimize the likelihood of negative personality traits found in some
purebred dogs. I don't know if my dog was in a family with small children
before, but she does really well with my none-too-gentle 2 year old. And as
a bonus, she only barks to warn us of people approaching the house. All
that said, every dog is different. I really encourage you to do your
research and then spend some time visiting with prospective dogs to find the
right fit. Take your kid(s) to get a sense of how the dog behaves with
children. There are so many good dogs out there that need good homes -
there will definitely be one (or two!) for you.
The Milo Foundation is located in Mendocino county, but they come to
Berkeley with a mobile adoption unit every other weekend. They set up at a
pet store called George on 4th St. Good luck finding a pet!
Diana
We have a 1/2 lab, 1/2 golden retriever who is all of the things you asked
for. He's great with kids,
a great watchdog, and before our fence was built (so we could leave him out
when we weren't home)
we just let him out the door and don't worry about him. But we did take him
to training classes when he
was young, which were a big help. Not that they trained him, but they
trained us, which is really the issue
in dog training. But I would highly recommend a lab or lab mix, and a
training class.
Ann
There are several websites which will help you find an appropriate breed
of dog by indicating which attributes matter most - watch dog (barking),
protection (attack strangers), good with children, amount of exercise &
grooming necessary, etc. Here are a few we've used in our quest for the
right dog.
http://www.purina.personalogic.com/
http://www.selectsmart.com/DOG/
http://petsource.com/ADOG/n3w/a.htm
http://www.petnet.com.au/selectapet/dogselectapet.html
By the way, there are other things to do which may make you feel and be
safer at home, and you might also ask a police officer to come to your
home and help you evaluate any weak points in your home security.
Little things can make a big difference - like whether you have a porch
light that's always on at night, whether you have motion detector lights
that will go on if someone approaches your perimeter (these can be a
nuisance, but if you're really worried you might be able to live with
it).
Natasha
I want to thank the person who wrote on 1/26 about her dog as a deterrant
and protector. I think this is really important for everyone to appreciate
about a dog, as well as their loving and fun companionship. There are many
people who are irritated with dog barking and go to extremes in complaining
about them- with law suits, throwing rocks at dog owners houses, demanding
dog owners to get rid of their dogs or coup them in the house all the time,
etc. Dogs are a valuable asset to a neighborhood. They do much more than
any alarm system. The alarm system is only good once your house is broken
into. The dog owner who wrote has a great neighbor to help care for the
dog when they are away.
My two cents worth about dogs as protection:
As a new Berkeley homeowner living in "the flats", my house was broken into
about 10 years ago when I first moved in, while we were on vacation. We had
a house alarm, and the alarm went off as soon as the intruder went into a room
with a motion detector (he came in thru a second-floor window that wasn't wired
for the alarm). The police responded quickly and nothing was taken. In
speaking with the police about that incident, they said that having a dog is
the best deterrent. Shortly after that, I took in a stray German Shepherd/
husky mix dog and I have never had a problem with burglary since,
neighbors have. He is an extremely gentle dog with my kids, but has a
very loud-serious sounding bark, and sounds off whenever anyone
comes near the back yard, where he spends most of his time. After many
years, he still barks at my next-door neighbor when she drives into her
driveway, and she's the one who feeds him when we are out of town! he's very
smart and friendly with strangers when I or my children are around, but even
as a very old dog now, still seems to intimidate the "bad guys" - at least
they stay away!
So I would advise you to pick a medium to big dog that looks scary (almost any
big dog that will bark at strangers), but is gentle with children. As a kid,
we had a Norwegian Elkhound - looks like a wolf, but is a medium size dog,
very good family dog, but protective of yard, house and family. Or a German
Shepherd mix.
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